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John  Henry  Salisbury 


University  of  California, 

FROM  THE    LIBRARY  OF 

Dr.  JOSEPH    LeCONTE. 

GIFT  OF  MRS.   LECONTE. 
No. 


■ ' ;  ^%S 


:iV<??^€^iiC "^^ i^r^\ ^t^/  Vo/'j^ # i v(Sy fw^'- '  W^''  ' -/ ^^i ' 


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IN  MEMORY  OF 


The  Reverend 


John  Henry  Salisbury,  D-D- 


Late  Pastor  of  the 


Fourth  Presbyterian  Church, 


TRENTON,  N.  J. 


TRENTON,  N.  J. : 

MacCrBLLISH  *  QUIGLEY,  Printbrs. 

I89I 


5  3  r  ^ 


Le^'-^ 


Prefatory  note. 


The  funeral  services  of  the  Reverend 
John  Henry  Salisbury,  D.D..,  late  Pas- 
tor of  the  Fourth  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Trenton,  N.  J.,  were  held  at  half-past  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  Wednesday,  Jan- 
uary 14th,  1 89 1.  Prayer  was  offered  at  the 
house  by  the  Reverend  Jacob  Cooper,  Pro- 
fessor of  the  Greek  Language  and  Literature  at 
Rutgers  College.  The  services  at  the  Church 
were  attended  by  a  large  number  of  clergymen 
and  others  from  abroad,  as  well  as  by  the 
members  of  the  congregation  and  other  citi- 
zens of  Trenton. 

The  next  day  the  body  was  taken  to  Cats- 
kill,  New  York,  for  interment,  in  a  special  car 
chartered  for  the  occasion.     The  remains  were 


f     i 


-rV-X 


4  PREFATORY   NOTE. 

accompanied  to  the  place  of  their  destination 
by  the  members  of  the  family  and  a  delegation 
of  fifteen  persons  from  the  Church.  The 
committal  services  were  conducted  by  the 
Reverend  Bvart  Van  Slyke,  D.D.,  Pastor  of 
the  Reformed  Church  of  Catskill. 

Much  to  the  regret  of  his  friends,  The  Rev. 
Dr.  Salisbury  left  directions  that  none  of  his 
sermons  should  be  published.  The  desire  for 
some  appropriate  memorial  of  him,  therefore, 
can  be  gratified  only  by  the  printing  of  this 
volume. 

It  is  printed  under  the  direction  of  a  com- 
mittee appointed  for  that  purpose  by  the 
Session   and  Trustees  of  the  Church. 


PROGRAM. 

Invocation, 

Rev.   a.  C.   Titus,   a  member  of  the  con- 
gregation. 

Reading  of  Scripture, 

Rev.  John  Dixon,  D.D.,  Moderator  of  the 
Presbytery. 

Biographical  Sermon, 

Rev.  John  Bodine  Thompson,  D.D. 

Hymn— "I^ead,  kindly  Light." 

Address, 

Rev.   J.   Preston   Searle,   Pastor  of  the 
First  Reformed  Church  of  Somerville. 

Address, 

Rev.   W.  H.  Woolverton,   Pastor  of  the 
Second  Presbyterian  Church. 

Prayer i  .  .  , 

Rev.  Samuel  M.  Studdiford,  D.D.,  Pas- 
tor of  the  Third  Presbyterian  Church. 

Chant— *•  Thy  Will  Be  Done." 

Benediction, 

Rev.  F.  S.  Barnum,  Pastor  of  the  Second 

Reformed  Church  of  Coxsackie, 

New  York. 


SERMO] 

BY 

The  Rev.  Dr.  J.  B.  Thompson. 

I  Corinthians,  13  :  8.     Love  never  faileth. 

Flowers  fade.  Leaves  fall.  Men  die.  Life 
fails.  But  Love  never  faileth ;  for  Love  is  of 
God ;    for  God  is  Love.* 

From  all  eternity  the  Love  which  God  is  has 
been  going  forth  from  the  All- Father  to  the 
only  begotten  Son,  and  in  like  manner  from 
the  Son  to  the  Father  in  the  ceaseless  proces- 
sion of  the  eternal  Spirit ;  and  it  is  by  this 
living  movement  of  the  divine  substance  that 
the  Absolute  completes  the  infinite  cycle  of 
His  self-caused  existence. 


•i  John,  4:  7,  8. 


8  IN  M^MORIAM. 

It  was  by  act  of  the  same  I^ove  that  the 
Father  gave  a  people  to  His  Son,  chosen  in 
Him  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  that 
they  should  be  holy  and  without  blame  before 
Him  in  I^ove.*  It  was  by  act  of  the  same 
Love  that  His  people  were  made  in  His  Image, 
created  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works  which 
God  had  before  ordained  that  we  should  walk 
in  them.f  It  was  by  act  of  the  same  Love 
that  the  uncreated  Image  of  the  invisible  God, 
(who  was  in  the  beginning  with  God  and 
was  God),  became  partaker  of  human  nature 
that  the  created  image  might  become  partaker 
of  the  divine  nature,  and  thus  escape  the  cor- 
ruption that  is  in  the  world  through  lust.  J  It 
is  because  Love  reigns  supreme  that  all  things 
work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God ; 


*Jer.,  31 :  3;  Eph,  i  :  4. 
t  Gen.,  1:27;  Eph.,  2  :  10. 

J  John,  3  :  16;   Col.,  I  :  15;  John,  1:1;   Heb.,  2  :  14;   i  Cor.,  11 :  7; 
2  Pet.,  1 :  4. 


IN  MKMORIAM.  9 

that  all  things  are  yours,  whether  the  world, 
or  life,  or  death,  or  things  present,  or  things 
to  come,  all  are  yours  [for  your  advantage], 
for  ye  are  Christ's,  and  Christ  is  God's.* 

These  teachings  of  Holy  Writ  are  exempli- 
fied in  him  whose  departure  we  mourn  to-day. 
As  divine  I/)ve  had  from  the  beginning  chosen 
him  unto  salvation,  and  separated  him  unto 
the  gospel  of  God,  so  divine  providence  pre- 
pared the  way  before  him ;  that  he  should 
inherit  the  desired  characteristics,  be  shaped 
by  the  designed  circumstances,  accomplish  the 
destined  duties,  and  inherit  the  kingdom  pre- 
pared for  him  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world,  t 

John  Henry  Salisbury  was  of  an  honorable 
lineage.  The  virtues  of  a  long  line  of  worthy 
ancestors  culminated  in  him. 


•  Rom.,  8  :  28 ;  i  Cor.,  3  :  21-23. 

1 2  Thesi.,  2:13;  Rom.,  1 :  t ;  Is.,  45  :  5 ;  Mat,,  25  :  34. 


lO  IN   MEMORIAM. 

The  family  derives  from  Adam  de  Salzburg, 
youngest  son  of  the  Duke  of  Bavaria,  whose 
offspring  became  knights  of  the  Manor  of 
Lleweny  in  Wales.  Among  the  relics  of  his 
ancestry  are  a  sword  bearing  date  1544,  the 
family  coat-of-arms  and  a  portrait  of  Queen 
Anne  Boleyn. 

They  were  brought  to  this  country  by  Sil- 
vester Salisbury,  who  was  an  officer  of  the 
English  army  that  wrested  the  New  Nether- 
lands from  the  Dutch  in  1664.  After  the  con- 
quest he  was  for  many  years  commandant  of 
Fort  Albany  and  the  region  roundabout.  This 
afforded  him  facilities  for  the  selection  of  lands, 
and,  with  a  single  colleague,  he  purchased  a 
tract  some  miles  in  circumference,  having  its 
centre  at  the  most  fertile  spot  in  the  valley  of 
the  Catskill.* 

In  that  vicinity  most  of  his  descendants  still 


*  Henry  Brace,  Esq  ,  of  New'York,  who  has  also  furnished  other  valuable 
historical  information. 


or 


IN  MEMORIAM.  II 

live.  The  immanent  moral  life  of  their  ances- 
tors is  ingrained  in  every  fibre  of  their  being. 
To  lose  it  would  be  to  lose  their  personal 
identity.  Amid  whatever  simplicity  of  man- 
ners, whatever  straitness  of  poverty,  whatever 
conflicts  of  adversity  in  the  times  that  tried 
men's  souls,  they  have  borne  their  part  in 
both  military  and  civil  affairs.  But  no  one  of 
them  has  lived  more  nobly,  or  died  more 
regretted,  than  he  in  whom  this  branch  of  the 
family  now  becomes  extinct. 

Of  the  ancient  glories  of  his  clan,  how- 
ever, he  knew  little,  and  cared  less.  He  was 
wholly  busied  in  his  work. 

The   pedigree   of   honey 

Does  not   concern   the   bee; 
A   clover  anytime  to  him 

Is  aristocracy* 

His  immediate  father  was  an  only  son, 
whose    patrimony     was    wasted    by    those    to 


*  EmUy  Dickinson. 


12  IN  MEMORIAM. 

whom  it  had  been  entrusted  during  his 
minority.  He  died  of  apoplexy,  with  the 
name  of  the  wife  he  was  leaving  on  his  lips. 
One   week  later  his   only   child   was  born.* 

If  heredity  did  much  for  this  posthumous 
child,  environment  did  more ;  and  that  envi- 
ronment was  made  for  him  by  his  mother. 
It  was  a  mother's  love  that  protected  and 
provided  for  him  until  he  arrived  at  man- 
hood. Her  tender  heart  the  lyove  of  God 
had  touched  in  early  youth,  while  dwelling 
among  her  own  kin  in  the  quiet  of  their 
country  home.  Afterward  vshe  became  a  com- 
municant   in    the    Reformed    Church    of   Cats- 


*  Henry  Salisbury  (the  son  of  Abraham  Salisbury,  of  Stockport,  N.  Y.), 
died  at  Catskill,  N.  Y.,  February  9,  1852.  His  wife  was  Susan  Elsbree. 
Their  son,  John  Henry  Salisbury,  was  born  at  Catskill,  February  16, 
1852.  He  was  graduated  from  Rutgers  College  in  1875,  and  from  the 
Theological  Seminary  at  New  Brunswick  in  1878.  During  his  first 
pastorate  he  was  strongly  urged  for  the  professorship  of  rhetoric  and 
elocution  in  Union  College  at  Schenectady,  a  position  for  which  he  was 
eminently  fitted ;  but  he  preferred  to  abide  in  his  calling.  The  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Divinity  was  conferred  upon  him  by  his  Alma  Mater  in  1890. 


IN   MEMORIAM.  I3 

kill,  where  I  knew  her  during  the  later  years 
of   her  saintly   life. 

Perhaps  because  her  son  had  no  father  upon 
earth,  she  was  all  the  better  able  to  recog- 
nize him  as  the  gift  of  our  Father  in  heaven. 
She  called  him  after  his  father,  that  the  name 
she  loved  might  ever  be  upon  her  lips.  To 
it  she  gratefully  prefixed  that  of  her  family 
physician,  the  kindly  Presbyterian  elder  who 
helped  her  with  his  Christian  sympathy  in 
the  hour  of   her  trial.  ^ 

It  was  the  name  of  the  disciple  whom 
Jesus  loved;  and  she  hoped  (and  not  in  vain) 
that  a  portion  of  that  loving  disciple's  spirit 
might  fall  upon  her  boy.  She  set  before  him 
such  an  example  of  faith  and  piety  and 
devotedness  and  diligence  as  we  read  of  only 
in  the  lives  of  the  most  eminent  saints.  She 
sought  wool    and  flax    and  wrought  willingly 


♦Dr.  John  Doane,  still  living  at  Catskili. 


14  IN   MKMORIAM. 

with  her  hands  that  she  might  support  and 
educate  the  son  whom  she  loved  as  her  own 
soul.*  One  who  knew  her  well  in  those 
days  writes : 

"He  had  a  most  devoted  mother,  who 
made  his  success  her  great  earthly  ambition, 
and  to  whose  efforts  mainly  that  success  was 
due."t 

Her  pastor,  when  the  child  grew  toward 
manhood,    says  : 

''She  was  one  of  my  staunchest  supporters 
and  most  constant  callers ;  a  woman  whose 
heart  had  two  objects  in  the  foreground 
always :  her  church  and  her  boy.  To  the 
first  she  gave  of  her  earthly  little  most 
freely;  to  the  second  she  gave  her  all.  Her 
talk  was  of  her  boy,  and  when  he  came 
into  the  church,   as  the  son  of  such  a  mother 


*Prov.,  31  :  13. 

f  The  widow  of  her  Pastor,  Rev.  Dr.  John  A.  Lansing,  in  her  letter  ol 
December  29,  i8go. 


IN   MEMORIAM.  1 5 

should  come,  quietly,  conscientiously,  from  a 
sense  of  the  rightness  of  so  doing,  her  joy 
was  unbounded.'"^ 

While  she  herself  was  struggling  for  daily 
bread,  she  adopted  a  deserted  infant,  and 
nursed  and  fed  and  trained  this  child  until 
she  became  a  Christian  woman.  St.  Paul 
commends  a  widow,  *Mf  she  have  brought 
up  children,  if  she  have  lodged  strangers,  if 
she  have  washed  the  saints'  feet."t  l^^is 
sainted  woman  did  more.  She  lodged  way- 
farers, and  washed  the  feet  of  tramps  whom 
all  men  abhorred.  For  love  of  Christ  she 
cleansed  their  loathsome  ulcers  and  bound 
them  up  with  healing  ointment.  From  the 
depths  of  her  poverty  the  riches  of  her  liber- 
ality abounded  unto  many,    and   the  blessings 


•The  Rev.  Dr.  Francis  A.  Horton.  See  page  22.  The  records  show 
that  John  Henry  Salisbury  was  received  into  the  communion  of  the 
Reformed  Church  of  CaUkill,  May  1,  1870. 

t  X  Tim.,  5  :  ID. 


1 6  IN  MKMORIAM. 

of  those  ready  to  perish  came  upon  her. 
Ceaselessly  she  seemed  to  be  developing  God- 
ward.  Diligently  she  used  the  means  of 
grace  appointed  of  God  for  that  purpose. 
I  have  known  her  to  drop  into  the  meet- 
ings of  the  church  with  her  market-basket 
on  her  arm  to  catch  spiritual  refreshment  by 
the  way.  Her  pastor's  piety  and  zeal  were 
often  stimulated  by  contact  with  hers. 

But  the  time  came  for  her  labors  to  have 
an  end.  The  son  (for  whom  she  had  so 
gladly  carried  such  cares)  was  in  his  early 
manhood ;  and  the  consummation  of  her  hopes 
was  reached  when,  once  at  least,  she  heard 
him  preach  the  gospel.  She  was  ready  then 
to  say:  *'IyOrd,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant 
depart  in  peace."  *  But, — whether  for  her 
sake  or  for  ours,  who  can  tell? — two  full 
years    yet    she    was   allowed    to   suffer  on   her 


*  Luke,  2  :  29. 


or 


IN   MEMORIAM.  1 7 

couch,  testifying  of  the  faithfulness  of  Christ 
to  all  who  came  near,  making  that  sick- 
room the  very  ante-chamber  of  heaven  to 
those  admitted  to  its  sacred  precincts.  And 
so,  refined  and  purified  so  as  by  fire,  she 
went  to  her  reward.*  It  was  my  privilege 
to  testify  then,  as  now,  that  there  is  no 
amount  of  grace  which  the  lyOrd  ever  granted 
to  a  saint  of  old,  that  He  is  not  equally 
ready  and  willing  to  grant  now  to  any  who 
will  receive  and  live  it.  He  giveth  not  the 
Spirit  by  measure.!  We  are  not  straitened 
in  God ;  we  are  straitened  in  ourselves.  The 
fault  is  not  in  Him,  but  in  ourselves,  that 
we  are  underlings  in  the  religious  life.  She 
was  no  underling;  though  in  her  humility 
she  thought  herself  such. 

Could  such  a  mother  have  other  than  such 
a  son?     Could  such  a  son  other  than  revere 


*She  died  with  caocer,  November  38,  1887. 
tjohn,  3:34  (revised  version). 

2 


l8  IN   MKMORIAM. 

the  memory  of  such  a  mother?     He  and  she 
lived  in   each  other's  love,   unknown   and  un- 
noticed  by  all    the  world    beside.     The  sweet 
companionship  of  father,  or  brother,   or  sister, 
or  uncle,    or  aunt,    or  cousin,   he  never  knew. 
But  his    mother    was  more    than  all    these  to 
him.      On   her  he  bestowed   the  whole  wealth 
of    affection    and    gratitude   of    which    he   was 
capable.      Of  her   he    did    well    to    be  proud. 
Again  and  again  has  he  been  heard  to  make 
his    boast    of    her    whose    cares    and    prayers 
had    made    him    what    he    was.     Am    I    not 
right    in    saying  that   environment    was    more 
than  heredity  to  him? 

And  the  same  divine  I^ove  which  had  pro- 
vided both  these  for  him,  watched  over  and 
guided  and  guarded  and  kept  him  from  the 
cradle  to  the  grave. 

Externally  his  early  life  did  not  differ  essen- 
tially from  that  of  other  boys  in  a  country  vil- 


IN   MKMORIAM.  19 

lage,  save,  perhaps,  that  he  was  more  neat  and 
quiet  and  gentle  than  most.  He  helped  his 
mother  in  the  work  of  the  household,  and,  as 
soon  as  he  was  able,  began  to  eani  what  little 
he  could  in  various  ways  to  ease  her  manifold 
burdens.  He  was  not  contaminated  by  the 
vices  with  which  village  children  so  early  come 
in  contact.  He  kept  himself  pure.  When  his 
companions  boasted  of  their  evil  deeds,  he 
thought  it  mere  bravado,  and  was  shocked  long 
after  to  learn  that  their  foolish  and  wicked 
boasting  had  not  been  untrue. 

In  school  he  was  diligent.  His  teachers 
marked  his  progress  and  spoke  of  his  bright 
promise  for  the  future. 
A  schoolmate  of  those  days  writes : 
* '  He  was  noticeable  as  a  youth  for  his  truth- 
fulness and  honesty  in  all  things,  both  great 
and  small.  As  a  lad  in  school,  he  was  singu- 
larly free  from  the  small  vices  and  deceptions 


20  IN   MKMORIAM. 

which  were  unfortunately  too  common  in  our 
day,  and,  while  a  thorough  boy,  yet  showed 
at  that  time  the  self-reliant  nature  which  carried 
him  through  all  that  he  undertook  in  after- 
life. He  was  cheerful,  companionable  and 
pure-minded  above  his  fellows.  He  entered 
keenly  into  the  sports  we  all  enjoyed  in  com- 
mon, but  never  carried  to  excess  any  pleasure 
or  pursuit  which  might  engage  his  attention, 
and  always  seemed  to  show  a  self-retiring, 
thoughtful  spirit.  He  was  a  good  student,  as 
his  record  shows,  and  followed  knowledge  for 
its  own  sake.  He  was  not  a  self-assertive 
boy  at  all,  but  preferred  to  make  his  friends 
quietly,  to  gain  the  esteem  of  those  whose 
praise  he  prized  by  careful  attention  to  what- 
ever he  took  in  hand  and  to  let  his  supe- 
riors form  their  judgment  of  him  without  any 
attempt  to  establish  a  bias  in  his  favor.  As 
I    can    recollect    his    character    now,    and    the 


IN   MEMORIAM.  21 

influence  that  his  companionship  had  on  me, 
the  innate  truthfulness  and  self-respecting  mod- 
esty of  the  boy  were  his  strongest  points.  He 
was  always  careful  of  the  feelings  of  others, 
and  I  never  knew  him  to  do  a  rude,  and 
scarcely  ever  a  thoughtless  thing. ' '  * 

At  that  time  he  was  strongly  attracted 
toward  a  military  profession.  But  his  pastor, 
recognizing  his  ethical  as  well  as  his  intel- 
lectual superiority,  joined  with  his  mother  in 
the  wish  to  have  him  become  a  Minister  of 
the  Gospel,  t 

A  Presbyterian  clergyman  (now  residing  in 
Kansas),   who  entered  into  the  full  communion 


♦Mr.  S.  W.  Green,  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  in  his  letter  of  January  7,  1891. 

t  Probably  but  few  of  his  acquainunces  are  aware  that  the  late  Rev. 
Dr.  John  H.  Salisbury  in  his  youth  had  a  military  career  under  consid- 
eration. But  such  is  the  fact.  When  Judge  Griswold,  of  this  village, 
was  in  Congress,  in  1869,  he  offered  his  young  friend  an  appointment  to 
the  U.  S.  Military  Academy,  at  West  Point,  The  offer  came  at  a  time 
when  the  martial  fire  burns  in  the  breast  of  most  young  men  and,  as  a 
schoolmate  and  friend  of  Dr.  Salisbury,  we  happen  to  know  that  he 
thought  favorably  of  the  offer;  bat  it  was  his  mother's  earnest  desire  that 
her  son  enter  the  ministry,  and  in  deference  to  her  wishes  he  declined 
the  appointment.— Gi/xAv*//  Recorder  of  January  16,  1891. 


22  IN  MEMORIAM. 

of  i.h.e  Church  with  him,  writes  that  the  work 
of  the  ministry  "was  more  frequently  the  sub- 
ject of  his  conversation  than  anything  else."* 
Yet  he  did  not  decide  without  due  delibera- 
tion. While  his  mother  never  ceased  to  pray 
that  he  might  enter  upon  the  work  of  the 
ministry  to  which  she  had  consecrated  him,  he 
wavered  as  time  went  on.  ''He  was  balanc- 
ing between  the  law"  and  the  gospel."  Finally, 
however,  in  a  conversation  with  his  pastor, 
(The  Rev.  Dr.  Francis  A.  Horton,  now  pastor 
of  the  First  Congregational  Church  of  Provi- 
dence, R.  I.,  who  has  kindly  furnished  me 
this  information),  ''he  declared  that  the  matter 
was  settled  with  him,  that  he  would  debate 
the  question  no  longer,  but  give  himself  to  the 
work  of  the  I^ord."  f 


*lhe  Rev  Stanley  D.  Jewell,  in  his  letter  of  January  9,  i8gi. 

fDr.  Horton  (in  his  letter  of  December  4,  1890,1  says  also:  "Looking 
from  the  earthside  only,  it  seems  a  thousand  pities  that  a  life  opening  with 
so  great  promise  of  usefulness  should  be  so  soon  ended      He  has  made  rapid 


IN  MEMORIAM.  23 

Then  came  his  course  in  College  and  in  the 
Theological  Seminary,  of  which  we  shall  hear 
from  the  most  intimate  companion  of  those 
years.* 

I  remember  well  the  evening  that  he  assumed 
his  ordination  vows,  and  became  to  me  a 
younger  brother  in  the  ministry,  as  he  was 
already  in  affection,  f 

At  his  request  I  preached  the  ordination 
sermon,  as  (also  at  his  request)  I  am  now 
preaching  this  funeral  discourse.  After  the 
service,  we  drove  slowly  twelve  miles  from  his 


strides  towards  the  front  rank,  and  with  time  and  health  would  have 
become  one  of  the  foremost  men  in  the  church.  *  *  *  I  rejoice  at  your 
statement  of  the  peace  of  mind  which  is  his  portion.  God  will  keep  him 
thus  even  to  the  end.  His  mother  will  be  glad  of  his  coming.  And,  in 
better  worlds,  when  the  mists  are  rolled  away,  we  shall  see  as  we  are  seen 
and  know  as  we  are  known,  and  perfect  love  will  reign.  Assure  him  of  my 
love  and  give  him  my  parting  blessing." 

♦The  Rev.  J.  Preston  Searle,  now  Pa.stor  of  the  First  Reformed  Church 
of  Somerville,  who  takes  part  in  this  service  at  the  special  request  of  his 
departed  friend. 

fl  first  knew  him,  as  a  student  in  college,  after  I  became  Pastor  at  Cats- 
kill  in  1874.  He  was  ordained  and  installed  at  Coxsackie,  July  a,  1878.  His 
pastorate  there  ended  December  20,  1887. 


24  IN  MKMORIAM. 

parish  to  mine.  It  was  a  beautiful  summer 
night.  On  our  right  were  the  rounded  peaks 
and  deep  shadows  of  the  Catskill  Mountains. 
On  our  left,  the  broad  Hudson  shimmered  in 
the  bright  moonlight  like  a  mass  of  molten 
silver.  The  scene  was  apt  for  confidences,  and 
he  told  me  all  his  heart.  He  opened  to  me 
the  innermost  recesses  of  his  soul,  as  men  are 
wont  to  open  them  only  to  the  eye  of  infinite 
Love.  From  that  day  forth  he  never  ceased, 
as  occasion  served,  to  pour  into  my  sympathetic 
ear  the  story  of  his  hopes,  his  fears,  his 
troubles  and  his  joys.  He  knew  how  I  loved 
him,  and  he  reciprocated  that  love.  He  trusted 
me. 

And  now  this  happy  past  is  all  secure ; 
and,  therefore,  the  future.  If  death  looses,  it 
also   binds ;   and   that   everlastingly. 

He  had  his  faults.  None  knew  them  better 
than    I.      Humbly    he    confessed    them,    with 


IN  MEMORIAM.  25 

contrition  and  faith  in  the  eflScacy  of  the 
blood  that  cleanseth  from  all  sin.  Blessed 
are  they  that  wash  their  robes.*  Meekly  he 
submitted  to  the  discipline  sent  in  I^ove  and 
learned  obedience  by  the  things  that  he 
suffered,  t  Divine  grace  overruled,  for  his 
furtherance  in  the  Christian  life,  even  his 
errors.  They  had  their  origin  in  an  amiabil- 
ity of  disposition  that,  sometimes,  perhaps, 
bordered  on  weakness.  One  of  his  college 
professors,  who  is  mourning  with  us  here 
to-day,  writes  of  him:  "There  was  in  his 
character  the  combination  of  'Sweetness  and 
Light'  which  makes  the  world  beautiful  as 
the  vestibule  of  heaven.  He  was  emphatically 
amor  et  delicice  generis  humani, — the  love  and 
delight  (or  pet)   of  the  human  race."t 


•  Rev  ,  22  :  14  (revised  version). 

tHeb.,  5:8. 

X  Rev.  Jacob  Cooper,  D.D.,  V>.  C.  L.,  in  his  letter  of  December  4th,  1890. 


26  IN   MKMORIAM. 

Perhaps  he  was  too  amiable.  He  disliked 
to  give  pain.  He  shrank  from  stating  an 
unpleasant  truth.  Adventurers  sometimes  took 
advantage  of  his  generous  nature.  Though 
not  deceived  by  their  fictions,  he  gave  them 
the  benefit  of  the  doubt,  preferring  to  be 
imposed  upon  rather  than  to  be  unkind. 

Yet,  where  he  was  weak,  there  also,  when 
necessity  was  laid  upon  him,  he  could  suffer 
and  be  strong.  Temptations  came  to  him  in 
such  insidious  guise  as  they  come  to  few,  but 
he  kept  himself  unspotted  from  the  world. 
More  than  once  did  the  demon  of  ambition 
whisper  in  his  ear,  and  more  than  once  was 
the  temptation  repelled  with  the  thought  of 
the  tempted  One  saying :  '  *  Get  thee  behind 
me,  Satan ;  for  thou  savorest  not  the  things 
that  be  of  God,    but  those  that  be  of  men."* 

His  love  for  souls,  like  his  love  for  Christ, 


♦Mat.,  16  :  23. 


IN    MEMORIAM.  27 

was  not  boisterous ;  but  it  was  deep,  sincere, 
unwavering.  And  the  Lord  blessed  his  work. 
The  Second  Church  of  Coxsackie,  in  whose 
presence  he  was  ordained  to  the  gospel  min- 
istry, was  his  only  charge  until  he  came  to 
Trenton.  With  that  church  he  lived  and 
labored  nearly,  or  quite,  ten  years,  begin- 
ning his  work  there  before  he  had  completed 
his  course  in  the  Theological  Seminary.  His 
successor  in  that  pastorate  writes :  * '  He 
was,  and  he  is,  greatly  beloved  by  this 
people ;  and  his  sickness  has  been  watched 
with  an  interest  and  with  prayer  second  only 
to  that  of  his  comparatively  new  people.  And 
I  do  not  know  whether,  in  the  profound  affec- 
tions of  the  heart  for  him,  my  present  church 
really  takes  a  second  place  to  that  he  now 
serves.  It  was  a  great  gratification  to  his 
friends  here  to  have  him  try  his  new-found 
strength   last    September  before    going  to    his 


28  IN   MKMORIAM. 

own  people ;  and,  when  he  showed  so  much 
vigor,  all  greatly  rejoiced.  I  found  one  emi- 
nent mark  of  the  faithful  pastor,"  he  adds, 
"in  the  educated  state  of  the  church  on  the 
subject  of  benevolence.  For  a  church  of  its 
means,  I  think  the  record  of  benevolence  is 
very  superior ;  and  the  spirit  with  which  the 
people  respond  to  the  calls  now,  shows  what 
good  work  he  did  with  them.  The  spirit  of 
harmony  seemed  to  abide  in  the  church  during 
his  pastorate ;  and  his  sound  teaching,  gentle 
and  kindly  spirit  and  conscientious  endeavor 
to  fulfil  his  ministry,  left  the  church  in  a 
happy  state   for  his   successor.* 

The  many  in  that  church  who  love  him  are 
weeping  with  us  to-day.  Several  of  them  are 
here  to  do  honor  to  the  memory  of  one  they 


♦The  Rev.  F.  S.  Barnum,  in  his  letter  of  November  26,  1890.  He  adds: 
"  I  am  distresed  that  his  ministry  seems  so  near  its  end.  But  all  who  love 
Dr.  Salisbury  must  recognize  God's  love  as  well  as  his  wisdom,  trusting 
where  we  cannot  trace.  Death  will  be  a  liberator  to  him,  and  ought  to  be  a 
teacher  to  us." 


IN    MEMORIAM.  29 

SO  much  loved ;  sorrowing  most  of  all  that  they 
shall  see  his  face  in  the  flesh  no  more.* 

To  some  of  them  earth  will  never  again  seem 
quite  so  bright  as  it  has  been.  But  heaven 
will  seem  brighter,  and  nearer,  and  dearer, 
than  ever  before. 

To  this  church  and  people  he  has  been  per- 
mitted to  minister  but  three  short  years,  t  And 
the  last  of   these    has    been    more    a    year    of 

suffering  than  of  work.  Six  months'  vaca- 
tion you  kindly  gave  him,  pajdng  the  chief 
of  his  heavy  expenses  and  supplying  his  pul- 
pit meanwhile,  in  the  hope  that,  in  answer 
to  your  prayers,  God  would  restore  him  to 
you.  He  was  so  far  restored  that  he  took  up 
his  work  and  hoped   to  go  on   with  it  as  be- 


♦The  delegates  from  the  Second  Reformed  Church  of  Coxsackie,  present 
at  the  funeral,  were  the  Rev.  F.  S.  Bamum,  Messrs.  C.  J.  Collier,  A.  G. 
Case,  N.  H.  Rlchtmyer,  S.  H.  Van  Dyck,  W.  E.  Winans,  Dr.  A.  V.  D. 
Collier,  Miss  Heermance,  Miss  L4i8k,  and  Mrs.  W.  E.  Winans;  Dr.  Stewart 
Reed  was  present  also. 

t  He  began  pastoral  work  with  the  Fourth  Presbyterian  Church  of  Tren- 
ton, January  i,  1888. 


30  IN    MKMORIAM. 

fore.  But  a  month  later  he  was  stricken 
down  again;  and  it  was  soon  understood  that 
the  end  could  not   be   very   far  off. 

The  attachment  of  this  people  to  him  is 
wonderful.  It  seems  like  the  growth  of  a 
life-time.  It  is  not  merely  that  he  was  an 
amiable  man ;  others  have  been  as  amiable 
as  he.  It  is  not  merely  that  he  had  ability ; 
others  have  been  as  able  as  he.  It  is  that, 
with  these,  he  has  labored  untiringly  to  give 
his  people  the  very  best  he  could.  During 
his  whole  ministry  he  was  a  diligent  student. 
He  obeyed  the  instruction  of  the  apostle : 
*' Neglect  not  the  gift  that  is  in  thee,  which 
was  given  thee  by  prophecy  with  the  laying 
on  of  the  hands  of  the   Presbytery.* 

He  was  diligent  in  these  things.  For  the 
sake  of  his  people  he  husbanded  his 
resources    of    mind    and    body.       He    did    not 


*i  Tim.,  3;  15. 


IN    MEMORIAM.  3I 

waste  the  time  and  strength  which  belonged 
to  them  in  desultory  efforts  elsewhere.  His 
church  was  always  first  in  his  estimation. 
While  not  neglecting  other  opportunities  of 
doing  good,  he  recognized  the  church  with 
its  families,  as  the  only  direct  institution  of 
God  in  the  world,  and  threw  himself  heartily 
into  its  work  as  God's  plan  for  saving  and 
blessing  a  ruined  world. 

Coming  hither  with  accumulated  stores  of 
wisdom  and  knowledge,  with  a  disciplined 
mind  and  a  Love  that  never  faileth,  he  gave 
himself  wholly  to  his  chosen  work. 

In  his  Love  for  his  people  he  has  been  privi- 
leged at  times  to  lift  their  hearts,  with  his,  as 
into  the  very  atmosphere  of  heaven.  His  own 
growth  in  grace  has  had  its  proper  consequent 
in  theirs.  The  officers  of  this  church  testify 
that  it  is  better,  nobler,  its  members  more 
united,  more  consecrated,  and  their  zeal  for  the 


32  IN   MKMORIAM. 

Master's  work  more  earnest  and  uniform  and 
steady  to-day  than  at  any  previous  period  of 
its  history.  His  Christly  example,  his  instruc- 
tive preaching,  his  wonderful  praying,  have 
done  their  work. 

Of  his  devoted  piety  I  had  long  been  aware. 
Of  the  intelligence  and  far-reaching  thought- 
fulness  of  his  preaching  I  was  not  ignorant. 
But  when  a  year  ago  I  began  to  worship  with 
this  church  and  to  follow  where  he  led  in 
prayer,  I  thanked  God  and  took  courage.  So 
helpful  were  his  utterances,  so  interpretive  of 
the  inner  exercises  of  our  souls,  making  definite 
and  giving  expression  (and,  therefore,  inten- 
sity,) to  the  thoughts  half-formed  within,  that 
we  prayed  in  the  words  which  the  Holy  Ghost 
taught    him,    as  we  had  never  prayed  before. 

But  even  then  I  was  afraid.  His  prayers 
seemed  so  to  take  hold  on  heaven,  he 
seemed    so    at    one    with    God    in    Christ,    so 


IN  MEMORIAM.  33 

ripe  for  the  Master's  use  in  a  nobler  sphere, 
that  I  feared  he  might  soon  be  called  to  **go 
up  higher."*  On  inquiry,  however,  I  learned 
that  he  was  more  strong  and  vigorous  than 
ever  before.  He  said  that  he  was  well.  He 
was  rejoicing  in  his  work,  and  planning  for 
its   extension. 

Then  I  spoke  to  him  of  his  prayers,  and 
told  him  how  they  helped  me,  and  how  they 
helped  others.  He  was  humble ;  but  he 
was  glad.  He  said:  '*  My  notion  of  prayer 
is  simply  that  of  a  child  talking  with  his 
Father.  It  is  complete  freedom  of  intercourse 
between  those  who  are  akin,  who  love."  He 
was  right.  All  unwittingly  he  has  taught  us 
to  pray,  as  Jesus  also  taught  His  disciples. 

I  desired  that  these  blessings  might  be 
extended  more  widely.  I  planned  to  have  it 
so.     I  arranged  to  have  his  prayers  reported. 


♦  Lake,  14  :  10. 

3 


34  IN  MKMORIAM. 

But    circumstances    hindered.     Of    course,    he 
never    knew  that   such    a  thing   was   thought 

of.         (i^'f-    z^-*^  Z'  •  ^X" 

In  February  last  he  told  me  that  he  was 
not  well.  At  my  earnest  solicitation  he  con- 
sulted a  physician.  Then  came  anxious  fore- 
bodings, the  fearful  operation  of  April  and 
the  hopeless  one  of  November.* 

[Thursday,  November  13th.]  Before  the 
second  operation,  he  said:  ''I  would  like  to 
live  a  few  years  yet,  to  preach  the  gospel  ; 
but,  if  this  is  to  be  fatal,  I  only  hope  the 
end  will  not  be  delayed  too  long."* 

He  was  not  afraid.  Six  months  before  he 
had  faced  death  under  the  surgeon's  knife, 
unflinching.     His  faith  had  been  tested. 


*  His  disease  was  cancer,  which  first  manifested  itself  internally.  He 
rallied  from  the  severe  cutting  of  April  fifth,  and  resumed  his 
work  in  October.  Even  then,  however,  the  disease  was  making  its 
appearance  upon  the  right  temple,  and  after  five  weeks  service  he  was 
compelled  to  desist.  The  second  operation  took  place  November  thir- 
teenth. 

*  Elder  W.  D.  Sinclair. 


IN  MEMORIAM.  35 

[Friday,  November  21st.]  A  week  later, 
when  told  by  his  physician  that  his  life 
would  be  protracted  little,  if  any,  beyond 
the  end  of  the  3'ear,  he  received  the  infor- 
mation with  perfect  equanimity. 

[Saturday,  November  226..']  The  next  day, 
he  said  to  me :  ' '  It  is  all  right.  I  am  trust- 
ing onl}^  in  Christ  and  His  righteousness.  I 
have  no  anxiety  about  the  future ' '  ;  with 
more  to  the  same  import ;  adding :  *  *  I  am 
looking  forward  to  meeting  with  my  mother, 
and   to  being  with  her  and  with  Jesus." 

[November  23d.  ]  On  Sunday  he  talked  of 
the  services  in  the  church,  and  asked  me  to 
come  in  the  next  day  and  read  him  something 
that  would   turn   his  thoughts  toward   heaven. 

[November  24th.]  On  Monday  he  had  so 
much  to  talk  of  that  I  thought  him  too  tired 
to  listen  to  reading,  and  left  him  after  we  had 
prayed  together. 


36  IN  MEMORIAM. 

[November  25th.]  On  Tuesday  he  was  too 
feeble  to  talk,  or  to  listen  when  I  proposed 
to  read.  But  the  emphasis  upon  the  "Amen" 
to  the  prayer  for  grace  according  to  his  need, 
told  of   the  firmness  of   his  hold   on    heaven. 

[November  26th.]  On  Wednesday  I  said  to 
him :  ' '  While  your  mind  is  yet  clear,  have 
you  anything  further  you  wish  to  say?" 
He  inquired  about  the  probabilities  of  life, 
and  of  pain,  and  then  said :  ' '  My  only  trust 
is  in  Christ.  I  have  no  plea  but  that  His 
blood  was  shed  for  me.  My  trust  is  in 
Him  alone."  Then  I  asked  him  if  he  had 
any  message  for  his  people.  He  said :  ' '  My 
people  I  commend  to  the  grace  of  God, 
trusting  that  He  who  has  brought  them 
thus  far,  will  continue  to  lead  them  even 
unto  the  end." 

After  that  he  added  messages  of  love  to 
individuals  and  gave  directions  respecting  this 
service. 


IN   MEMORIAM.  37 

[November  28th.]  On  Friday  he  said:  "The 
Master  has  no  further  work  for  me  in  this 
world.  I  am  looking  forward  to  service  in  a 
better." 

The  next  day  he  was  heard  pouring  out 
his  soul  to  his  Heavenly  Father  as  if  he 
already  saw  him  face  to  face. 

[Friday,  December  5th.]  A  week  later  he 
expressed  his  regret  that  he  was  not  per- 
mitted longer  to  carry  on  his  work  here,  yet 
said  that  nevertherless  he  was  content,  since 
such  was  the  will  of  God.* 

His  was  no  morbid  piety.  He  loved  life 
with  its  opportunities  for  usefulness,  and  he 
perceived  that  he  was  about  to  be  cut  off  in 
the  midst  of  his   days. 

[Saturday,  December  6th.]  The  next  day  he 
said  to  me :  "I  have  less  pain  than  I  had; 
but  I  hope  I  shall  not  be  left  to  suffer  too 
long.    I   have  the  same  trust  in  Christ  alone." 


•Judge  w.  M. 


38  IN  MKMORIAM. 

[Sunday,  December  yth.]  After  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  I^ord's  Supper  in  the  church,  at 
his  request  the  Elders  and  the  Trustees 
assembled  round  his  bed  while  he,  too,  ate 
the  bread  and  drank,  for  the  last  time  on 
earth,  the  wine  which  he  now  drinks  new 
in  the  kingdom  of  God.  Then  he  said :  "I 
have  only  one  request  to  make,  that  you 
will  all  meet  me  in  heaven." 

[Tuesday,  December  9th.]  Two  days  later 
when  I  saw  him  his  voice  was  stronger  and 
clearer,  and  his  strength  firmer  than  it  had 
been  for  a  week  previous.  He  spoke  of  his 
feebleness  on  the  preceding  Lord's  Day,  and 
expressed  the  hope  that  he  might  yet  be 
able  to  send  the  fuller  message  which  in  his 
own  mind  he  had  prepared  for  those  associ- 
ated with  him  in  the  government  of  the 
church.  He  inquired  respecting  old  friends, 
and    repeated    the    expression    of    his    wishes 


IN   MKMORIAM.  39 

concerning  this  service.  After  that  he  became 
much  feebler,  and  I  did  not  see  him  again 
until  the  next  week. 

[Monday,  December  15th.]  It  was  with 
evident  effort  that  he  then  roused  himself 
to  express  his  satisfaction,  to  speak  of  the 
necessity  for  the  constant  use  of  anodynes, 
and  to  say  (in  answer  to  my  inquiry) :  "I 
am  just  trusting  and  resting,  trusting  and 
resting. ' ' 

[January  5th,   1891.]    Afterward,  I  saw  him 

but  once,  looking  through  the  open  doors 
upon    the    loved    countenance  while    he    slept 

the  blessed  sleep  of  rest   from  pain. 

Thus  he  lingered,  while  his  people  prayed, 

to  the  very  last  day  of  the  Week  of  Prayer ; 

and,  on  the  morning  of  that  day,  waked  into 

the  Day  whose  sun  shall  never  set.  * 


*  He  died    at   the    Parsonage  at    half-past   eight    in    the    morning    of 
Saturday,  January  10,  1891. 


40  IN  MBMORIAM. 

O  happy  soul,  be  thankful  now  and  rest ! 

Heaven  is  a  goodly  land. 
And  God  is  Love.     And  those  He  loves  are  blest. 

Now  thou  dost  understand. 
The  least  thou  hast  is  better  than  the  best 

That  thou  didst  hope  for.     Now  upon  thine  eyes 
The  new  life  opens  fair. 

Before  thy  feet,  the  blessed  journey  lies 
Through  homelands  everywhere, 

And  heaven  to  thee  is  all  a  sweet  surprise.* 

Said  I  not  right  that  divine  I/)ve  kept  him 
from  the  beginning  of  his  life  to  the  end 
thereof?  Indeed,  indeed,  Love  never  faileth. 
It  never  failed  toward  him. 

And  this  Love  is  of  the  same  nature  wher- 
ever it  exists.  As  it  never  fails  in  God,  it 
never  fails  in  the  Godman.  As  it  never  fails 
in  Christ,  it  never  fails  in  the  Christian. 
And  it  exists  in  every  Christian  so  far  as  he 
is  a  Christian.     As  it  never  failed  in  our  dear 


♦Washington  Gladden. 


IN  MEMORIAM.  41 

one  in  the  past,  it  does  not  fail  in  him  in 
the  present.  This  is  just  the  argument  of  the 
apostle.  Love  is  *  *  the  greatest  thing  in  the 
world"  because  it  never  faileth.  All  the  bright 
gifts  (which  render  their  possessor  so  useful 
to  his  fellows  here)  end  with  life ;  but  Love 
never  faileth.  It  continues,  as  on  earth,  so 
also  in  heaven.  He  who  has  now  gone 
before  us,  has  not  ceased  to  love  us.  He 
loves  us  still.  He  loves  us  more  intensely 
than  ever  before ;  for  now  Love  is  perfected 
in  him.  As  travelers  by  sea  behold  the  out- 
line of  the  mountains  and  the  headlands  of 
the  country  to  which  they  are  approaching, 
and  greet  them  from  afar,  so  he  saw  before 
him  the  peaks  and  promontories  of  the  prom- 
ised land,  bright  with  the  sunlight  of  the 
promises,  and  looked  forward  to  the  joys  of 
intercourse  with  Abraham  and  Isaac  and 
Jacob,   and    his  own    dear    mother,   and    other 


42  IN  MBMORIAM. 

saints  of    the    Old    Testament    and    the    New. 

And  yet,  and  yet,  he  felt  that  even  in 
heaven,  without  his  people,  he  should  not  be 
made  perfect.*  His  Love  for  them  is  not  yet 
satisfied.  His  work  for  them  is  as  yet  incom- 
plete. 

And  it  is  for  yo7i  to  say,  dear  friends, 
whether  it  shall  be  completed  in  you,  whether 
his  Love  for  you  shall  be  satisfied.  Do  you 
not  feel  the  unutterable  yearnings  of  his  heart, 
drawing  you,  more  strongly  to-day  than  ever 
before,   to  his  and  your  Saviour? 

I  appeal,  first  of  all,  to  those  who  by  his 
ministrations  have  come  to  understand  and 
appreciate,  better  than  ever  before,  their  rela- 
tionship to  Christ,  and  the  blessings  which  grow 
out  of  that  relationship.  O  beloved,  since 
you  are  partakers  with  him  of  the  same  Love, 
live  the  Love,     Let  it  manifest  itself  in  you,  as 

*Heb  ,  n  :  13,  40. 


IN  m;emoriam.  43 

it  did  in  him,  in  devotion,   in  consecration,  in 
unworldliness,    in  faith,    in   hope,    in  joy. 

I  appeal  to  his  young  people,  in  whom  he 
was  so  much  interested,  to  whom  he  sent 
messages  of  Love  from  his  hospital  couch 
He  feared  lest  by  any  means  the  tempter 
should  get  the  advantage  of  you.  He  prayed 
for  you  that  your  faith  fail  not ;  that  you  keep 
yourselves  in  the  Love  of  God  by  building 
yourselves  up  on  your  most  holy  faith.  Will 
you  not  respond  to  his  Love  by  yielding  your- 
selves thoroughly  to  the  pervasion  of  the 
Christ-Love  ? 

I  appeal  to  those  whom  he  has  received  into 
the  communion  of  the  church ;  to  those  whom 
he  has  married ;  whose  children  he  has  bap- 
tized ;  whose  sick  he  has  visited  ;  to  whom, 
under  all  these  circumstances,  he  has  mani- 
fested the  Love  which  ruled  in  his  own  heart ; 
I  appeal   to  all   these  to  believe,   and  receive, 


44  IN   MBMORIAM. 

and  exhibit  the  same    lyove  constantly  in   all 
holy  conversation  and   godliness. 

I  appeal  especially  to  those  to  whom,  under 
the  promptings  of  this  unfailing  Love,  he  has 
appealed  so  often,  so  earnest^,  and,  hitherto, 
so  vainly.  Dear  friends !  will  you  not  hear 
the    appeal  he  makes  to  you   to-day  with    his 

•«  Poor,  poor  dumb  lips," 

that  shall  never  speak  again  ? 

It  is  said  of  Samson  that  those  whom  he 
slew  at  his  death  were  more  than  they  which 
he  slew  in  his  life.  O  that  it  might  be  so, 
in  a  higher  sense,  with  this  faithful  servant ! 
His  desire  for  the  glory  of  God  went  further 
than  Samson's.  It  extended  beyond  death, 
even  into  the  spirit-world,  as  I  have  said. 
Shall  his  desire  for  God's  glory  in  your  salva- 
tion now  be  gratified? 

With    some    of    you    the    Spirit    has    been 


IN   MEMORIAM.  45 

Striving  while  your  Pastor  lay  upon  his  death- 
bed. If  you  do  not  allow  yourself  to  be 
properly  affected  by  this  affecting  death,  by 
the  fact  that  so  many  are  praying  for  you, 
if  now  you  ''quench  the  Spirit,"  is  it  prob- 
able that  ever  again  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
shall  come  so  nigh  to  you?  Will  you  not 
now  enter  in  by  yielding  yourself  completely 
unto  Christ? 

The  Sunday-school  will  miss  its  Pastor. 
Both  teachers  and  pupils  who  have  been 
instructed  by  his  ministrations  will  miss  him. 
Most  deeply  have  I  been  touched  during  his 
illness  by  inquiries  after  him  from  children 
of  the  infant-class.  And,  when  I  told  him, 
he  was   touched  by  it,    too. 

The  King's  Daughters  will  miss  him,  by 
whose  instrumentality  they  were  made  all 
glorious  within  with  the  beauties  of  holiness.* 


*  Psalms,  45:13;   110 13. 


46  IN  MEMORIAM. 

The  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union 
will  miss  him.  The  roses  sent  him  during 
his  illness  (whose  fragrance  he  enjoyed  when 
he  could  no  longer  see)  have  faded ;  but 
the  text  which  told  of  their  sympathy  and 
prayers  shall  never  fade. 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association, 
every  good  cause,  will  have  reason  to  lament 
his  departure. 

Few  will  miss  him  more  than  his  fellow- 
pastors.  His  thoughtful  essays,  his  genial 
companionship,  his  quiet  Christian  example, 
have  endeared  him  to  them  all. 

To  one  of  them,  as  opportunity  occurred 
and  the  Spirit  prompted,  he  spoke  recently 
of  what  passed  through  his  mind  before  and 
after  he  lay  unconscious  under  the  surgeon's 
knife.  At  the  earnest  request  of  this  friend, 
he  consented  to  write  out  what  he  had  thus 
stated,  for    the    sake    of  his    brethren    in    the 


IN  MBMORIAM.  47 

ministry.  But  he  was  stricken  down  again 
before  he  could  perform  the  promise ;  and  we 
shall  hear  to-day  what  he  would  have  written, 
in  the  words  of  one,  in  the  providence  of 
God  best  fitted  of  us  all  to  enter  into  and 
interpret  such  deep  interior  experience.* 

Of  my  own  affection  for  him,  I  will  not 
trust  myself  to  speak : 

I  had  a  brother  once; 
Brother  at  once,    and   son! 

And  who  shall  venture  to  tell  the  story  of 
the  tie  that  made  for  him  a  home  ?  As  the 
heart  knoweth  its  own  bitterness  so  a  stranger 
doth  not  intermeddle  with  its  joy.*  Tender 
and  loving  as  a  woman,  with  his  manly  love 
made  still  more  tender  by  the  illness  of  the 
one  he  loved,   he  had  the  satisfaction  of  see- 


*The  Reverend  William  H.  Woolverton,  Pastor  of  the  Second  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Trenton,  who  has  kindly  consented  to  make  the 
sutement,  which  will  be  found  on  page  65. 

♦  Prorerb*,  14 :  10. 


48  IN  MKMORIAM. 

ing  her  health  grow  stronger  and  better  and 
brighter  in  response  to  his  loving  care,  until 
she  was  well-nigh  as  vigorous  as  when  she 
first  gave  herself  to  him  with  the  same 
abandonment  of  afiection  with  which  he  gave 
himself  to  her.  Happy  the  woman  who  has 
been  the  object  of  such  affection!  Happier 
still  that  she  has  reciprocated  it  with  a  devo- 
tion that  would  gladly  have  given  for  him 
the  young  life  given  so  unreservedly  to  him 
during  these  few  brief,  gladsome  years ! 
Happiest  of  all  in  the  anticipation  of  sharing 
it  again  with  him  in  a  world  where  there  is 
no  more  parting,  and  no  more  pain ;  where 
perfected  lyove  rules  everlastingly. 

I  charge  and  entreat  you  who  have 
rested  in  your  husband's  love  hitherto,  to 
rest  in  that  love  henceforth.  Let  that 
love  draw  your  willing  soul  always  nearer  to 
him,    by    drawing    you    always    nearer  to  his 


IN   MKMORIAM.  49 

and  your  Saviour.  So  shall  you  ever  be  per- 
fecting holiness  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord ;  and 
so  shall  you  and  he  and  all  your  dear  ones 
who  thus  live  and  die  in  faith,  and  hope  and 
I/)ve,  be  forever  with  each  other  and  forever 
with  the  Lord.     Love  never  faileth. 


ADDRESS 


OF 


REV.  J.  PRESTON  SEARLE, 


THE  REV.  DR.  SALISBURY'S  COL- 
LEGE AND  SEMINARY 
COURSE. 

BY   REV.  J.    PRESTON   SEARLE. 

I  SHALi,  never  forget  a  bright  September 
afternoon  in  the  fall  of  1871.  Our  college 
course  had  begun  but  a  few  days  before,  and 
that  day  the  young  man  who  had  been  sit- 
ting next  me  on  the  right  in  our  recitation- 
rooms,  made  the  first  friendly  overtures  to  me 
which  led  to  an  intimacy  the  closest,  the 
sweetest,  and  the  most  stimulating  I  have  ever 
enjoyed  in  my  intercourse  with  men.  But  of 
the  value  of  that  friendship  to  me,  and  the 
sense  of  loss  which  burdens  my  heart  to-day, 
I  have  not  come  here  to  speak — I  could  not 
if  I  would.      Nor  is  it  needful  that   I   should 

(53) 


54  IN  MKMORIAM. 

do  SO.  You  who  knew  him,  know  how  he 
could  bind  men  to  him  as  with  bands  of 
steel. 

Mr.  Salisbury  entered  college  with  the  class 
preceding  ours.  He  had  been,  however,  but 
a  ver}?-  short  time  in  New  Brunswick,  when 
home  circumstances  compelled  his  return  to 
his  native  village  for  a  year.  The  interval 
was  busily  employed,  and  he  returned  with 
a  preparation  for  his  college  work  equaled 
by  that  of,  perhaps,  only  one  or  two  of  his 
classmates.  But  he  brought  back  far  more 
than  a  mere  technical  preparation. 

He  came  to  his  work  with  well-developed 
and  splendid  powers  of  application.  His  sur- 
roundings had  no  influence  upon  him  when 
tasks  were  to  be  accomplished.  No  matter 
what  they  were,  he  could  separate  himself 
from  them  all.    His  room-mates — and  he  shared 


IN  MKMORIAM.  55 

his  study  sometimes  with  two  or  three  of 
them — were  not  always  classmates.  They  were 
men,  moreover,  who  drew  companions  con- 
stantly around  them.  Again  and  again  have  I 
seen  him  in  the  midst  of  a  babel  of  noisy 
voices,  happy,  undisturbed — absorbed  in  study, 
as  though  he  was  entirely  alone. 

Again,  he  was  endowed  with  a  love 
for  the  processes  of  intellectual  eflfort — not 
alone  its  resulting  knowledge,  but  the  very 
steps  by  which  that  knowledge  was  ac- 
quired— and  this  love  amounted  to  a  zest. 
He  luxuriated  in  hard  work  for  what  it 
was  to  him  in  itself.  A  difficult  problem,  a 
knotty  translation,  an  abstruse  page  in  meta- 
physics, roused  him  to  enthusiasm,  as  the 
warrior  is  roused  by  conflict  with  a  deter- 
mined foe.  He  seemed  thus  constitutionally 
free  from  all  inclination  to  mental  indolence, 
and  the  mental  dissipations  others  of  us  loved 


56  IN   MEMORIAM. 

to  indulge  in  under  the  plea  of  rest,  wearied 
instead  of  attracted  him  with  their  false 
charms. 

There  was  also  in  all  his  thinking  a 
certain  broad-minded  deliberation,  very  un- 
usual, at  least  among  those  beginning  a  college 
course.  He  never  plunged  impetuously  along 
lines  of  study  that  were  untried.  There  was 
always  something  that  seemed  like  hesitancy, 
to  those  who  did  not  understand  him,  in  his 
attitude  towards  a  subject  new  to  his  thought. 
It  was  anything  else  but  hesitancy,  however. 
He  looked  at  these  subjects  first  on  all  their 
sides,  and  then  he  sought  their  heart — just  as 
the  bird  will  often  hover  for  a  moment  over 
its  prey  the  more  surely  to  secure  it,  would 
he  study  a  question  until  some  line  of  cleav- 
age, reaching  to  its  very  centre,  would  be 
discerned,  and  then  never  did  wing,  with 
truer,    swifter    flight,    bear    bird    to   its    victim 


IN  MEMORIAM.  57 

than    did    his    mind    bear    him    to    the   object 
that  he  sought. 

But,  best  of  all,  he  brought  to  all  his 
work  a  most  conscientious  faithfuness.  What 
he  undertook  to  do,  must  be  done  by 
him  just  as  well  as  it  could  possibly  be 
done.  If  he  ever  shared  the  common  ten- 
dency to  slight  some  things,  at  least  when 
we  think  the  process  is  a  safe  one,  he  had 
educated  himself  out  of  it,  until  carelessness 
in  work  had  become  for  him  almost  an  im- 
possibility. His  fraternity  and  seminary  work, 
in  which  no  question  of  class  standing  was 
involved,  evidenced  this.  The  task  of  the 
day,  or  of  the  hour,  completely  finished,  he 
regarded  as  the  best  foundation  he  could  lay 
for  the  possible  tasks  of  the  future.  And 
when  this  spirit  animated  real  abilities,  quick 
perception,  retentive  memory,  discriminating 
judgment,   such   as  were  his,    and   is  a  conse- 


58  IN  MKMORIAM. 

crated  spirit,  the  Lord  takes  care  that  promo- 
tion shall  be  sure.  The  faithful  in  the  few 
things  always  become  the  rulers  in  the  many 
when  the  servants  serve  Him.  This  the 
whole  of  my  friend's  career  has  proved  anew. 
Plonors  and  responsibilities  have  been  his, 
but  he  never  reached  out  a  selfish  hand  to 
grasp  them ;    they  simply  came  to  him. 

Working  thus,  Mr.  Salisbury  was  soon  recog- 
nized by  us  as  the  probable  leader  of  our  class, 
and  the  conjecture  was  fully  realized.  His 
leadership  was  easily  maintained  in  every  term 
and  in  almost  every  study  of  the  four  years' 
course.  And  at  the  risk  of  passing  outside  the 
limits  of  the  theme  assigned  me,  I  must  say 
that  all  was  done  with  such  absence  of  sel- 
fishness and  self-assertion,  with  so  much  of 
consideration  and  justice  and  generosity — and 
of  this  last  characteristic  I  wish  I  could  give 
some  of  the  illustrations    crowding    upon    my 


IN  MEMORIAM.  59 

recollection — that    no    one    envied    him.       He 
was   our  leader  and  he  was  our  pride. 

It  followed,  also,  from  his  methods  of 
work,  that  he  carried  forth  from  college  far 
more  than  a  well-stored  memory.  He  had 
gained  a  rarely  disciplined  mind.  His 
thought,  even  the  most  spontaneous,  was 
ordered,  correct  thought.  Here,  although 
joined  with  gifts  of  voice  and  of  manner, 
was  the  secret  of  the  eloquence  which  he 
could  make  felt  even  through  the  medium 
of  the  class-room  speech,  and  of  the  power 
of  which,  reaching  to  his  public  service  of 
prayer,  we  have  heard  to-day. 

His  seminary  course  was,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  two  marked  particulars,  a  continuation 
of  his  college  work. 

It  was  inevitable  that  a  mind  like  his,  in 
which   accurate   thinking  had  become  a  habit. 


6o  IN  MEMORIAM. 

when  brought  in  contact  with  the  stupendous 
themes  theology  includes,  themes,  moreover, 
which  must  be  clumsily  handled  in  the  best 
of  human  text-books,  should  be  led  into 
earnest  questionings.  Happily  for  him  his 
experimental  knowledge  of  the  truth  was  too 
rich  and  deep  for  these  questionings  to  resolve 
themselves  into  doubt.  In  the  end  with  him 
they   only   broadened,    strengthened   faith. 

The  other  particular  distinguishing  his  semi- 
nary from  his  college  life  was  of  a  very  dif- 
ferent kind.  The  Lord  began  to  discipline 
him  upon  another  side  than  the  intellectual 
one.  The  same  dread  disease  to  which  he 
has,  alas,  fallen  a  victim  laid  its  relentless 
hold  upon  the  mother,  to  whom  splendid  and 
deserved  tribute  has  been  already  paid,  and 
whose  devotion  he  lovingly,  loyally  returned.  His 
time  for  months  was  divided  between  his  semi- 
nary duties  and   ministering   to  her.     Grief  at 


IN   MKMORIAM.  6l 

her  sufferings  and  her  loss  also  threw  its  de- 
pressing influence  over  him.  He  always  felt, 
I  know,  although  his  seminary  course  was  an 
exceedingly  creditable  one,  that  he  had  been 
in  a  measure  crippled  for  its  routine  work. 
There  were  compensations,  however,  that  he 
and  we  can  see  better  now  than  then. 
Through  the  experiences  of  that  bitter  season 
he  was  made  ready  to  minister  tenderly,  in- 
telligently, eflficiently,  to  hundreds  of  suffering 
souls,  and,  in  part,  doubtless  was  prepared 
to  face  hours  of  agony  and  at  last  death 
itself  with  a  fortitude  whose  calmness  was 
like  that  in  which  the  ordinary  duties  of 
daily  life  are  usually  approached  by  any  of  us. 

And  he,  the  friend,  the  pastor,  the  hus- 
band, has  gone  forth  from  us.  I,et  us  re- 
member, however,  that  with  talents  faithfully 
improved,   freed  now  from  the  burden  of   the 


62  IN  MEMORIAM. 

body,  from  the  cares  and  the  clustering  ob- 
scurities which  enwrap  the  earthly  life,  he 
serves  still,  and  before  the  throne  of  God. 
He  has  gone  forth  from  us,  by  the  grace  of 
Him  who  saves,  for  a  season  only.  When  a 
few  more  years,  or  days,  have  come,  not 
amid  the  gathering  shadows  of  some  autumn 
afternoon,  but  instead  amid  the  bursting 
glories  of  an  eternal  dawn,  this  old-time 
intimacy  shall  be  renewed  in  all  its  closeness, 
in  all  its  sweetness,  in  all  its  power  to  uplift 
and  help. 

Thus  may  it  be  with  you,  his  people,  to 
whom  his  heart  was  given.  Thus  may  it 
be  with  her  who  was  dearer,  far  dearer,  to 
him  than  friend. 


ADDRESS 


OF 


REV.  WM.  H.  WOOLVERTON 


ADDRESS 

BY 

The  Rev.  W.  H.  Woolverton. 

I  STAND  in  this  place  to-day  because  it 
was  my  privilege  to  be  taken  into  the  con- 
fidence of  our  departed  friend  and  brother, 
and  that  with  reference  to  his  deepest  life. 
I  shall  not  soon  forget  a  stormy  afternoon  in 
November,  the  occasion  of  our  last  inter- 
view together.  Though  stormy  and  dark 
without,  'twas  calm  and  bright  enough  within. 
Most  earnestly  do  I  wish  that  every  one  who 
questions  the  reality  of  the  Christian  religion, 
who  doubts  its  living  power,  might  have 
been  there,  too,  and  heard  his  honest,  hope- 
ful words,  and  felt  the  influence  of  his  de- 
lightful spirit. 

5  (65) 


66  IN  MSMORIAM. 

He  was  indeed  an  object  lesson  in  trust 
and  patience,  peace  and  hope.  And  who  will 
say  that  he  was  not  brought  back  here  a 
few  months  ago  with  that  intent ;  to  im- 
press his  devoted  people,  his  brethren  of  the 
ministry,  to  impress  us  all,  beloved?  And 
who  will  say  that  it  has  not  done  this 
already,  in  the  special  benediction  that  even 
now  seems  to  be  resting  upon  our  churches? 
It  did  seem  as  if  the  very  week  of  prayer 
was  sanctified  by  his  uplifting  presence. 

But  I  must  limit  myself  to  our  interview. 
I   am  merely  to  echo  that. 

The  central  thought  of  it,  to  which  he 
again  and  again  recurred,  was  ^^  Abiding  in 
Christ/^  how  much  it  meant  to  him;  how 
much  more  than  ever  before.  I  remem- 
ber questioning  him  on  this,  when  with 
brightened  look  he  said,  " 'Tis  so  much 
more  real  and  satisfying  than  it  used  to  be." 


IN  MEMORIAM.  67 

"Abiding  in  Christ,  in  Him  we  possess  all 
things,  pardon,  peace  and  the  inheritance." 
He  dwelt  especially  upon  the  last.  With 
thoughtful  look  he  would  repeat  the  words, 
"the  inheritance."  How  rich  and  real  it 
seemed  to  him !  He  recalled  his  feelings  that 
Friday  morning  last  spring  when  he  started 
for  New  York  for  the  trying  ordeal  through 
which  he  had  to  pass.  It  was  a  trying 
ordeal,  trying  alike  for  him  and  his  These 
are  his  very  w^ords.  Though  he  had  "always 
had  a  strong  love  for  life,"  yet  that  morning 
as  he  took  the  cars  from  here,  "M^  world 
had  a  far-away  look''  to  him  He  was  per- 
fectly resigned  to  leave  it.  That  same  Friday 
night  he  rested  as  peacefully  as  ever,  more 
so,  if  anything,  he  said.  He  had  no  mis- 
givings whatever.  He  was  in  the  Lord 
Christ's  hands,  and  all  was  well.  When  on 
Saturday  morning  he  received  word  that  every- 


68  IN  MEMORIAM. 

thing  was  ready,  lie  walked  down  stairs  and 
into  the  operating  room  without  a  tremor. 
Then  shaking  hands  with  the  four  doctors  in 
attendance,  he  climbed  upon  the  operating 
table  and  trustfully  committed  himself  unto 
the  L,ord. 

Thus  calmly  and  with  unfaltering  trust  he 
faced  the  end  which  seemed  indeed  so  immi- 
nent. And  this  feeling  was  not  a  transient 
one,  but  abiding.  It  followed  him  all  through 
the  spring  and  summer ;  it  came  back  here 
with  him  in  the  fall ;  it  manifested  itself  in 
his  preaching,  as  his  discerning  hearers  no- 
ticed, and  as  one  of  them  remarked,  * '  he 
preaches  like  a  man  who  has  been  down  to 
the  river's  edge,  and  caught  sight  of  the 
other  shore." 

He  told  me  of  the  delightful  seasons  of 
communion  that  he  had  upon  his  bed  last 
summer ;  not    at    regular,    recurring    intervals, 


IN   MEMORIAM.  69 

as  morning  and  evening,  but  whenever  he 
felt  like  praying.  How  characteristic  this  was 
of  him !  There  was  nothing  forced  nor  stereo- 
typed about  him.  There  was  utter  absence  of 
all  pretence  and  cant.  *He  could  not  say  one 
thing  and  mean  another.  When  he  prayed, 
he  prayed,  his  heart  was  in  his  prayer.  If 
he  could  not  pray,  he  would  not  make 
believe ' 

In  speaking  of  his  suflferings,  and  of  their 
effect  upon  him,  he  brought  up  one  of  Henry 
Ward  Beecher's  striking  pictures  in  which  he 
portrayed  two  kinds  of  storms :  the  win- 
ter storm,  which  is  chilling,  wasting  and 
devastating  in  its  effects ;  and  the  storm 
of  summer,  which  is  refreshing,  beautify- 
ing and  life-giving.  In  applying  the  figure 
to  himself  (and  I  well  remember  his  expres- 
sion and  the  deep  impression  he  made  upon 
my   mind;    I    try   to    recall    his    very    words'^. 


JO  IN   MEMORIAM. 

'  *  I  am  devoutly  thankful, ' '  said  he,  ' '  that 
my  sufferings  have  been  like  the  latter, — like 
the  refreshing  summer  storm.  They  have 
certainly  done  me  good."  He  somehow  felt 
he  was  closer  akin  to  the  Man  of  Sorrows 
in  consequence  of  them.  For  right  out  of 
the  midst  of  them  he  writes:  "My  gratitude 
to  God  for  His  goodness  to  me  knows  no 
bounds.  His  hand  has  saved  me  from  death, 
and  has  brought  me  triumphantly  through  my 
sufferings.  Surely  there  is  no  God  like  unto 
ours'^ 

What  a  magnificent  spirit  this.  And  it  fol- 
lowed him  all  through.  In  some  respects  the 
like  of  him  we  shall  not  see  again.  Such 
patience,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith !  He 
was  indeed  a  master  to  us  in  all  of  these. 
But  the  Lord  has  taken  him  from  our  head 
to-day,   taken    him    in  a    chariot    of   fire — cer- 


\ 


IN  MEMORIAM.  71 

tainly  of  fire ;  taken  him  to  the  better  land ; 
taken  him  to  Himself.  And  as  we  fondly, 
feelingly  think  of  him,  think  of  his  rare 
gifts  and  graces,  of  his  devoted  life  and 
well-crowned  work,  words  like  the  bereft 
Klisha's  leap  longingly  from  our  lips:  Our 
brother,  our  brother,  the  chariot  of  Israel 
and  the  horsemen  thereof!  May  a  double 
portion  of  thy  spirit  rest  upon  us  all ! 


RESOLUTIONS, 


RESOLUTIONS    OF    THE    CATSKILL 
CHURCH. 

The  Consistory  of  the  First  Reformed 
Church  of  Catskill,  N.  Y.,  at  a  late  meeting 
unanimously  adopted  the  following  preamble 
and  resolutions : 

Whereas,  God  in  His  inscrutable  provi- 
dence has  released  from  his  work  the  Rev. 
John  H.  Salisbury,  D.D.,  a  child  of  this 
Church,  who  was  reared  and  once  had  his 
home  among  us ;    therefore,    be  it 

Resolved^  That  in  the  recognition  of  the 
Divine  Hand  in  the  strange  movement  of 
His  work,  we  bow  in  humble  submission  to 
the  will  of  Him  "who  doeth  all  things 
well." 

Resolved,  That  this  Church  here  record 
their  high  appreciation  of  the  character  of 
(75) 


76  IN  MEMORIAM. 

Dr.  Salisbury,  the  noble  work  he  has  done 
in  the  field  in  which  God  had  placed  him, 
and  express  their  most  hearty  sympathy  with 
the  stricken  widow  and  Church. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions 
be  sent  to  Mrs.  Salisbury,  be  put  upon  the 
minutes  of  the  Church  and  published  in  The 
Christian  Intelligencer  and  the  Catskill  papers. 

By  order  of   Consistory. 

K.  Van  Si^ykk,  President, 
W.   R.   Post,   Clerk. 

Catskill,  January   ii,   1891. 


RKSOI.UTIONS  OF  THE  COXSACKIE 
CHURCH. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Consistory  of  the 
Second  Reformed  Church,  Coxsackie,  N.  Y., 
held  January  19th,  1891,  the  following  action 
was  taken  by  a  unanimous  vote : 

Whereas,  God,  our  Heavenly  Father,  in 
His  inscrutable  and  all-wise  providence  has 
called  unto  Himself  our  very  dear  friend,  the 
Rev.  John  H.  Salisbury,  D.D.,  who  for  nine 
and  a  half  years  was  the  beloved  Pastor  of 
the  Second  Reformed  Church,  Coxsackie,  N. 
Y.  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  Consistory  of  that 
church,  in  behalf  of  ourselves  and  the  mem- 
bership, do  spread  upon  our  records  the  fol- 
lowing minute: 

(77) 


78  IN  MEMORIAM. 

I.  The  Rev.  J.  H.  Salisbury  was  called  to 
this  pastorate  while  still  in  the  Theological 
Seminary,  and  was  ordained  to  the  Gospel 
ministry  in  this  church,  which  he  served 
from  July  2d,  1878,  until  December  20th, 
1887,  when  he  was  regretfully  dismissed  to 
accept  the  call  of  the  Fourth  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Trenton,  N.  J.  His  ministry  with 
us  was  full  of  the  ardor  of  consecrated  young 
manhood,  and  marked  with  a  rapidly  ripen- 
ing judgment,  as  well  as  an  increasing  intel- 
lectual and  spiritual  power.  Every  year  wit- 
nessed a  substantial  addition  to  the  church 
on  profession  of  faith,  and  a  greater  indoc- 
trination of  the  membership  in  the  blessed 
truths  of  the  Bible.  He  greatly  stimulated 
the  benevolent  interest  of  the  church,  and 
wisely  conserved  the  various  departments  of 
church  activity.  The  years  of  his  pastorate 
were    years    of  uninterrupted  harmony  in  the 


IN  MKMORIAM.  79 

church,  and  of  his  increasing  influence  and 
regard  in  the  community.  We  greatly  re- 
spected him  for  his  ability  as  a  Christian 
teacher,  and  rejoiced  "in  the  things  new  and 
old"  he  so  earnestly  presented  out  of  the 
treasure  house  of  God's  Word.  We  greatly 
loved  him  for  his  Christian  spirit  and  for  his 
counsel,  sympathy  and  prayers  in  times  of 
trouble  and  sorrow ;  and  we  feel  that  his 
death,  even  after  more  than  three  years'  ab- 
sence and  service  to  another  church,  is  a 
personal  bereavement. 

2.  We  tender  to  his  bereaved  wife  our  pro- 
found sympathy  in  her  overwhelming  sorrow, 
and  commend  her  to  the  sustaining  love  of 
our  Heavenly  Father,  who  responds  to  our 
broken-hearted  questionings  with  His  most 
comforting  love,  and  who  also  says,  ''What 
I  do  thou  knowest  not  now,  but  thou  shalt 
know  hereafter." 


8o  IN  MEMORIAM. 

3.  That  this  minute  be  published  in  The 
Christian  Intelligencer^  and  a  copy  be  trans- 
mitted to  Mrs.   Salisbury. 

F.   S.   Barnum,   President, 

S.   H.   Van  Dyck,   Clerk. 


RESOLUTIONS  OF  THE   FOURTH   PRES- 
BYTERIAN CHURCH  OF  TRENTON. 

ADOPTED  SUNDAY,   JANUARY    IlTH,    1891. 

Whereas,  It  has  been  the  will  of  our 
Heavenly  Father  to  remove  from  us,  by  death, 
the  beloved  Pastor  of  this  church,  the  Session 
and  Trustees  desire  to  present  the  following 
resolutions  for  your  acceptance  : 

Resolved,  That  we  desire  to  express  our 
sense  of  gratitude  to  God,  that  He  provided 
for  us  such  a  Shepherd  to  feed  and  oversee 
this  flock,  and  that  it  has  been  our  privilege 
for  three  years  to  enjoy  his  precious  ministry. 

Resolved,    That    we    hereby    bear    testimony 

to     his    deep     devotion     to     his     people,     his 

earnest  spirituality,   his  high  intellectual  gifts, 

his  noble  aim  and  sanctified  ambition  to  make 

full    proof    of    his    ministry    in    building    up 
6  (81) 


82  IN   MKMORIAM. 

Christ's  people  in  their  most  holy  faith  and 
in  bringing  the  unconverted  to  a  knowledge 
of  the  great  salvation. 

Resolved^  That  we  will  ever  remember  the 
power  and  earnestness  of  his  prayers,  the  force 
and  fervor  of  his  sermons,  his  prudence  and 
faithfulness  as  a  pastor ;  and  will  gratefully 
cherish  his  walk  and  conversation  amongst  us 
as  an  example  to  lead  us  to  greater  consecra- 
tion to  the  interests  of  this  church  and  to  the 
great  work  to  which  he  devoted  his  life. 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to 
acompany  the  remains  to  the  place  of  burial, 
and  that  this  church  be  draped  in  mourning 
for  thirty   days. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions 
be  entered  on  the  minutes  of  the  Session  and 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  that  a  copy  of 
them  be  sent  to  his  wife,  to  whom  we  hereby 
desire  to  express  our  deepest  sympathy  and 
our  affectionate  regard. 


RESOLUTIONS  OF  THE  PRESBYTERY. 

At  the  Intermediate  Meeting  of  the  Pres- 
bytery of  New  Brunswick,  held  in  the  Second 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Trenton,  January  27th, 
1891,  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  H.  Salis- 
bury was  announced,  and  the  following  minute 
adopted : 

This  Presbytery  desires — 

1.  To  thank  God  for  His  covenant  faithful- 
ness as  exhibited  again  in  his  dealings  with 
our  departed  brother. 

2.  To  express  our  appreciation  of  the  worth 
of  him  who  has  been  called  away  and  of 
the  consequent  loss  to  us. 

3.  To  make  known  to  the  sorrowing  widow 
and  to  the  widowed  church  our  deep  sympa- 
thy with  them   in  their  bereavement. 

(83) 


84  IN  MBMORIAM. 

4.  To  pray  that  tliey  and  we  may  be 
comforted  with  the  comfort  with  which  the 
God  of  all  comfort  alone  can  comfort  his 
bereaved  ones. 

5.  To  send  copies  of  this  minute  to  the 
bereaved  widow  and  church  and  to  enter  it 
upon  our  records  for  the  benefit  of  those  who 
come  after  us,  that  they,  too,  may  learn  to 
put  their  trust  in   God. 


DR.  SALISBURY'S  MEMORIAL. 

HIS  PRAYERS. 

To  the  Editor  of  The  Christian  Intelligencer:  Before 
your  readers  can  see  these  words  the  little  volume  "  In 
Memory  of  the  Reverend  John  Henry  Salisbury,  D.  D,," 
will  be  on  sale  at  the  rooms  of  the  Board  of  Publication. 
The  substance  of  certain  historical  notes,  which  should  have 
been  printed  with  it,  I  have  sent  to  the  Catskill  Recorder. 

After  the  funeral  services  it  was  discovered  that  the  re- 
porter (whom  I  had  engaged  for  the  purpose)  had  steno- 
graphic notes  of  two  of  Dr.  Salisbury's  prayers  of  October 
19,  1890.  They  are  fair  specimens  of  his  usual  prayers  at 
public  worship,  and  will  be  valued  by  those  who  loved  him, 
I  therefore  send  them  to  you  for  publication. 

John  B.  Thompson. 

Trenton,  N.  J.,  March  31,  1891. 


MORNING  PRAYER. 

We  thank  Thee,  O  God,  our  Heavenly  Father, 
for  the  privilege  of  coming  again  to  Thy  courts 
that  we  may  pray,  and  praise,  and  worship. 

We  are  glad  to  know  that  we  can  come,  not  to 
the  mountain  that  burned  with  fire,  into  the  storm 
and  tempest,  unto  the  voice  of  a  trumpet  and  the 
voice  of  words,  a  sight  so  terrible  that  Thy  servant 
Moses  said:  "I  exceedingly  fear  and  quake."    We 


S6  IN    MEMORIAM. 

are  glad  that  we  rather  can  come  to  the  mount 
assigned  for  those  who  worship  Thee  in  spirit  and 
in  truth,  that  has  been  made  secure  by  the  pres- 
ence of  our  dear  Saviour. 

We  are  glad  for  the  privilege  of  sitting  once 
more  at  His  feet  and  listening  to  the  holy  words 
that  proceed  from  His  mouth.  We  have  read  in 
Thy  word  that  the  secret  of  the  Lord  is  with  them 
that  fear  Him.  We  have  read  that  the  secret 
things  of  God  are  hidden  from  the  wise  and  pru- 
dent and  revealed  unto  babes. 

We  bless  Thee,  O  God,  that  we  can  come  into 
such  nearness  unto  Thyself  that  we  can  hear  Thy 
precepts,  that  we  can  feel  the  touch  of  Thy  hand 
upon  us;  and  we  are  glad  to  be  instructed  by  such 
wisdom  as  only  Thou  canst  bestow  upon  Thy 
waiting  people.  We  are  glad  to  be  encircled  by 
Thy  love.  O,  Father,  grant  that  we  may  this  day 
come  very  near  to  Thee;  and  may  we  feel  that 
Thou  art  present  to  bless  us  according  to  our  needs. 


IN    MEMORIAM.  87 

We  thank  Thee  for  the  rest  that  Thou  dost  give 
our  bodies.  May  we  receive  it  as  Thou  dost  give 
it  to  us,  and  in  our  acceptance  of  it  may  we  be 
better  prepared  for  the  days  to  follow,  knowing 
that  to-morrow  soon  will  come  with  its  toil  and 
burdens;  that  soon  again  we  will  be  confused  by 
all  its  manifold  tumult.  May  it  make  us  more 
quiet,  more  at  rest,  and  more  blessed  in  all  things, 
and  more  useful  for  all  time  to  come. 

We  thank  Thee  also  for  that  rest  of  soul  which 
Thou  dost  give  Thy  people.  May  it  be  a  rest  in 
our  hearts,  a  benediction  in  our  inner  life;  and  by 
these  saving  and  healing  influences  may  we  be,  on 
earth  and  in  time,  lifted  up  into  the  very  presence 
of  God,  our  Father. 

We  are  glad  that  we  can  come  to  this  sanctuary. 
We  come  to  it  to-day  as  to  a  place  of  refuge,  as  to 
a  place  of  shelter  from  the  beating  storms  of  every- 
day life,  as  to  a  place  for  the  perplexed  in  the 
affairs  of  this  life,  a  place  for  the  poor  and  needy 


88  IN   MEMORIAM. 

in  heart;  and,  O  God,  may  no  soul  that  waits  upon 
Thee  in  the  true  spirit  this  morning  go  away  from 
this  place  without  receiving  the  blessing  that  we 
are  waiting  for  Thee  to  bestow.  Give  large  re- 
plies to  our  prayers;  and  even  while  we  pray  may 
our  souls  be  filled  with  the  blessed  assurance  that 
Thou  dost  answer  the  prayers  of  Thy  people. 

We  thank  Thee  to-day  above  all  things  else  for 
our  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ;  we  thank  Thee  that  He 
once  came  to  this  earth  and  died  to  save  us,  a 
sacrifice  for  sin,  by  whom  and  through  whom  all 
things  have  been  accomplished  in  us. 

Hear  the  promises  we  make  to-day  to  be  true 
and  loyal,  promises  to  give  Thee  the  undivided 
love  of  our  hearts;  and  grant  that,  as  the  days 
come,  Christ  may  rule  in  our  hearts  and  fill  our 
lives  with  holier  and  nobler  influences.  Hear  us 
to-day  as  we  promise  Thee  to  live  better  than  we 
have  done  in  the  past.  We  have  sinned;  but,  O, 
Jesus,  help  us  to  sin  no  more  against  Thee. 


IN   MEMORIAM.  89 

Direct  us  in  business  engagements;  in  domestic 
and  commercial  perplexities;  make  us  useful 
among  men.  Help  us,  Father,  to  live  honest  lives 
in  the  sight  of  all  men.  Prosper  that  which  we 
undertake,  so  far  as  Thou  seest  is  profitable  for 
us,  so  that  prosperity,  which  is  of  itself  useful, 
may  be  sanctified  to  us  as  coming  from  Thee  who 
giveth  all  things.  Grant  us  Thy  strength;  and 
may  we  look  to  Thee  in  our  weakness.  May  we 
give  Thee  our  life,  our  entire  life,  unbegrudged. 

And  now,  wilt  Thou  be  kind  unto  all,  the  old 
and  the  young,  the  strong  and  the  weak,  and  those 
bowed  down  under  heavy  burdens.  Send  messages 
of  salvation  to  bless  those  who  are  perplexed  and 
in  trouble  of  any  kind.  Speak  to  those  who  are 
tried  and  borne  down  by  poverty.  Bless  them  in 
their  need.  Speak  words  of  comfort  and  cheer  to 
the  grief-stricken  ones  in  whose  presence  we  are 
dumb. 

Father,  hear  us  in  behalf  of  the  prodigals  who 


90  IN    MEMORIAM. 

have  wandered  from  their  heavenly  Father's  love. 
Hear  us  in  behalf  of  the  murderers  of  fathers  and 
mothers,  and  hear  us  in  behalf  of  the  evil  and  the 
unfaithful  ones.  O  God,  let  Thy  benedictions  fall 
upon  the  hearts  of  all  men. 

Bless  our  Church  in  all  her  interests.  Be  with 
the  ministers  of  the  Gospel  all  over  the  world  to- 
day as  they  stand  to  proclaim  messages  of  salvation 
from  Thy  holy  word.  Let  Thy  grace  fall  into  the 
hearts  of  those  who  rule,  and  Thy  love  into  the 
hearts  of  all  people.  And  Thy  Name,  Father,  Son 
and  Spirit,  shall  have  all  the  praise  forever.    Amen. 

EVENING    PRAYER. 

Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven,  we  come  once 
more  to  Thy  house  to  worship  Thee,  who  art  a 
Spirit,  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  We,  to-night,  join 
with  the  church  of  all  times  and  of  all  lands  and 
give  praise  unto  Thy  great  and  holy  name,  because 
of  Thy  grace  and  Thy  truth.     We  are  a  part  of 


IN    MEMORIAM.  9I 

the  church  of  God,  the  whole  of  which  Thou  alone 
canst  see;  and  we  would  to-night  add  our  voices 
to  those  that  are  continually  coming  up  before 
Thee,  in  personal  thanksgiving.  As  we  assemble 
here,  we  pray  Thee,  touch  our  hearts;  and,  if  they 
be  hearts  of  stone,  make  them  hearts  of  flesh.  We 
wish  to  be  in  the  spirit  of  worship.  O  God,  give 
us  the  open  ear,  the  attentive  ear,  with  a  desire  to 
listen  to  the  words  of  Holy  Writ.  We  fear  that 
our  ears  are  so  filled  with  the  noises  of  the  world 
that  we  do  not  hear  the  callings  of  the  divine  voice, 
which  should  be  the  sweetest  music  to  our  ears. 

Do  Thy  work  in  us.  Enable  us  to  say:  "Lord, 
what  speakest  Thou  ?"  and  help  us  to  answer: 
"  Speak,  for  Thy  servants  hear."  We  wish  to  hear 
Thy  voice.  We  desire  to  be  in  all  things  as  Thou 
wouldst  have  us  be;  and  we  would  have  our  hearts 
inflamed  with  a  desire  to  know  Thy  will  and  do  It. 

Our  Father,  give  us  a  great  and  large  answer  to 
our  prayers.     Hear  us  as  we  pray  for  ourselves, 


92  IN    MEMORIAM. 

for  our  dear  ones,  for  our  homes  and  for  all  the 
interests  that  are  dear  to  our  hearts. 

We  hope  to  give  Thee  a  better  life  in  the  future 
than  we  have  given  Thee  in  the  past.  Turn  the 
page  for  us  and  witness  for  us,  especially  in  our 
vows,  that  we  may  be  constant  in  Thy  service  and 
watch  daily  and  hourly  unto  prayer.  Help  us  to 
devote  all  our  energies  to  the  Lord's  work.  Oh, 
do  Thou  help  us  to  honor  Thy  dear  name  among 
men. 

O  God,  we  thank  Thee  for  our  Saviour's  death. 
We  thank  Thee  that  He  rose  from  the  dead,  and 
are  glad  that  He  now  sits  at  the  right  hand  of 
God,  the  Father,  where  he  ever  liveth  to  make  in- 
tercession for  us.  Cleanse  us  by  His  blood.  Sanc- 
tify us  by  His  Spirit.  May  we  know  the  peace  of 
forgiven  sins.  And  may  we  know  what  is  that 
sweet  and  blessed  fellowship  through  the  Eternal 
Spirit. 

And  now,  our  Father,  all  things  are  known  unto 


IN    MEMORIAM.  93 

Thee.  All  things  concerning  us  are  known  unto 
Thee;  and,  we  pray  Thee,  still  look  down  upon  us 
as  Thy  children. 

Bless  our  church  in  all  her  interests.  Bless  our 
Sunday  school.  Bless  our  prayer  meetings.  Bless 
our  missionary  endeavors.  Bless  all  who  desire 
to  do  Thy  work.  Bless  all  Thy  people  together. 
Grant  us  such  a  revelation  of  Thyself  to-night  that 
we  shall  be  satisfied  that  we  have  come  here  for  a 
blessing,  and  have  received  it. 

O  God,  send  us  back  an  answer  to  our  prayers, 
an  answer  of  pardon,  of  assurance  and  peace 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  And  Thy  name. 
Father,  Son  and  Spirit,  shall  have  the  praise  for- 
ever.   Amen. 

N  Of 


YB  337.^'^ 


#.      V 


I.  ^ 


'*        ***(»* 


V   «; 


itfi^ 


t^^A' 


^^      "' 


